Ten minutes later.
Screee—
With the final wing of a Raptor shredded under his weight, the last of the initial human interceptor group fell. Skygnaw spiraled down, landing heavily on a rooftop to inspect his chassis.
The battle had been grueling. After the initial shock of downing four jets, the remaining pilots had adapted, their Sidewinders and 20mm cannons leaving scorched gouges and dents in his newly evolved Elite-Class armor. He'd had to deploy Black Panther onto a low-flying bird just to break their formation.
Skygnaw felt a sudden pang of nostalgia for his old Interceptor form. If he were still a sleek Foxhound built for high-altitude interception, he would have finished this in five minutes without a scratch.
He shook off the thought and banked toward the street where the main conflict raged. The roar of explosions was deafening even from half a mile away.
"Lord Megatron. The human aircraft have been neutralized," Skygnaw reported over the comms.
He looked down at the street below. The intersection was unrecognizable. It was a hellscape of burning husks and shattered concrete. To his surprise, the Autobots were still holding their line, but Brawl lay in the middle of the street, his optics flickering—near death.
Barricade was locked in a brutal CQC struggle with Jazz, while a squad of human soldiers peppered the Decepticon scout with sabot rounds.
"Skygnaw. Assist Barricade," Megatron's voice boomed.
The Leader still hadn't moved from his perch. Whether it was out of sheer arrogance or a belief that his subordinates should prove their worth, he remained a silent, silver gargoyle of death.
"By your will, Lord Megatron."
Skygnaw prepared to dive, but a deep, rhythmic honking echoed from the end of the boulevard. A red-and-blue Peterbilt semi tore through a barricade of abandoned cars.
Optimus Prime had arrived.
"PRIME!"
The casual indifference vanished from Megatron's face, replaced by a snarling, ancient hatred. He shifted into his Cybertronian jet form and plummeted toward the street.
"MEGATRON!"
Optimus transformed at high speed. As the silver jet shrieked over his head, Prime leaped, his massive hands catching Megatron's wing.
Crank-grind—
Megatron rolled his chassis mid-air, the sheer centrifugal force throwing Optimus into the side of a skyscraper. The two titans smashed through floors of glass and steel, tumbling through three separate buildings before crashing into the parallel street.
BOOM!
Megatron was the first to rise. He drove a massive pede into Optimus's chest, pinning him to the asphalt.
"Old friend," Megatron hissed, his optics burning red. "Still choosing to fight for the weak. Look at this world. It is beautiful, almost as beautiful as Cybertron once was. And yet, these humans do not deserve it."
"They do not deserve to live!"
"Megatron..." Optimus groaned, his servos whining as he fought the weight of the Leader. "Whether they deserve it is their choice to make, not yours!"
"Then you can die with them!"
Megatron slammed his hands together in front of his chest, his internal gears shifting to form a massive, high-caliber Fusion Cannon. In the seven thousand years of the Great War, countless Autobots had been vaporized by this weapon.
He aimed the glowing barrel directly at Optimus's face. A bloodthirsty grin twitched on Megatron's mandibles. "Join them in the void!"
Suddenly, a silver Pontiac Solstice drifted around the corner.
"Stop, Megatron!"
Jazz didn't hesitate. He slammed his vehicle form into Megatron's leg, the impact forcing the giant to stumble. As Prime's first lieutenant, Jazz's loyalty was absolute; he would not let his leader fall.
"Well done, Jazz!"
Optimus seized the opening, rolling away and deploying his ion blaster.
ZAP—
A high-energy ion bolt slammed into Megatron's chest. The Leader didn't even flinch. He absorbed the impact, pivoted on his heel, and backhanded a Fusion blast toward Prime.
BOOM!
The invisible hammer of the shockwave sent Optimus flying a hundred meters through the air. He smashed into a brick facade and vanished under a mountain of rubble.
Skygnaw, watching from above, felt a chill. Megatron was a monster. That casual shot carried more power than Skygnaw's entire rocket pod. The power gap between a Leader and an Elite was a canyon he hadn't fully realized.
"Insolent spark," Megatron growled, turning his gaze toward the silver car attempting to flee. He shifted into jet mode and pounced.
"Is that all you've got, Megatron?" Jazz shouted, zig-zagging through the debris.
But Megatron was faster. His massive claw reached down, plucking the silver car from the street like a hawk catching a mouse.
"Come here, little thing!"
Megatron hurled Jazz onto the roof of a nearby clock tower before landing and pinning the scout with his clawed pede.
"I admire your courage, Jazz," Megatron rumbled. "A pity you share Prime's blindness."
"Spit on you, Megatron! You think I'll crawl? Never!" Jazz shifted to humanoid form, frantically firing his shield-mounted gun into Megatron's face.
RIP.
Like a piece of wet parchment, Megatron gripped Jazz's torso and pulled. The scout's chassis screamed and tore in two. Megatron tossed the remains into the street below with a careless thud.
"NO!!"
Optimus Prime erupted from the ruins, his energy blade glowing with a blue fury as he charged. Megatron leaped down to meet him, his own crushing claw extended. The two Leaders clashed in a whirlwind of sparks and steel, their duel shaking the very foundations of the city.
In the distance, more white streaks appeared in the sky. Fresh Raptors were closing in.
Skygnaw, still hovering, felt a pulse of annoyance. He banked hard, diving toward the street. He was shocked to see that Brawl, despite being riddled with sabot rounds, was struggling back to his feet.
"Damn! This thing just won't stay dead!" Lennox swore, watching through his binoculars.
But the sound of the jets gave him hope. "Hold the line! Support is on top of us!"
Lennox turned to Epps. "Robert! Signal the Air Force! Give them the green smoke!"
"On it, Will!"
Epps crouched behind an armored transport, clutching the bulky shortwave radio. "Calling all birds! This is ground command! Acknowledge!"
Raptor Lead: We have you. Proceed.
"Yes!" Epps kissed the radio. "Green smoke marks the friendly line! We need fire on the hostiles now! Where are the Jolly Greens for extraction?"
Raptor Lead: Transports are inbound. Provide coordinates.
"A-273 degrees, ten miles. N-40 North 1.6 miles."
Raptor Lead: Roger. Inbound.
Lennox sprinted toward a corner where Sam and Mikaela were desperately strapping the legless Bumblebee to a heavy tow-truck.
"Mikaela, get the engine started! Sam, hook the cables to his shoulders!"
"Lennox! Where's the Spark?" Lennox shouted as he ran up, breathless.
"Right here! In the truck!"
"Good!" Lennox pulled a flare from his vest and shoved it into Sam's hand. "Sam, look at me! You see that white building? The one with the statues on the roof?"
"Yeah, I see it!"
"Go! Get the Cube to the roof and pop this flare! The helicopters will meet you there for extraction!"
Sam looked at the flare, then at the giants clashing in the street. He shook his head frantically. "No! No! I can't do it! I'm just a kid!"
Lennox grabbed Sam by the collar, pulling him inches from his face. "Listen to me, Sam! You're a soldier now! And soldiers follow orders! Get that Cube on that plane or everyone we left behind dies for nothing! GO!"